Arunachal - Paradise ruled by cheaters

Food, sight-seeing and shopping
Food is really not up to the mark if one expects real flavours of Bengali, Punjabi or even South Indian dishes. Chinese and Thai food like Chowmien, Momos and Thukpa preparations are really good and worth trying. Food charges are extremely high. A veg thaali comprising of a small quantity of rice, two hard chapatis, a small bowl of stale veg curry, some watery daal and a microscopic pickle can cost you Rs 120. We had to eat this derogatory food at The Nature Inn at Bomdila. The places worth visiting are the Bumla border, Madhuri lake, Sela lake, War Memorial at Tawang, Tawang Monastery, Dirang valley, Tipi orchid research centre where we saw an insectivorous Pitcher plant, the Jiyabharli river at Bhalukpang and, of course, the magnificent roadside scenary in spite of the dangerous road conditions. Shopping should preferably be done at the Fancy Bazaar of Guwahati.

Activities & things to do
One should be very careful about hotel bookings as the hotel owners have a tendency to sell your booking to someone else if, due to horrible road conditions, you reach there late.This happened to us twice - once at Dirang and next at the Shipyang hotel at Bomdila. Ample woollen clothes should be taken as it is very cold after Bomdila at this time of the year. The homoeo medicine Coca-6 is very good for high altitudes. Also smelling of camphor, which has natural oxygen, helps at the high altitudes of Sela pass or Bumla border. We received heavy snowfall on our way back from the Bumla border. This is a common after the 15th of Oct. After we came down there was an avalanche and road to Bumla was closed. We were lucky to get the heavy snowfall and return safely, but there is always the possibility of getting caught in a snowstorm or blizzard or an avalanche. So enough dry food and drinking water to last for at least 3/4 days should be taken to cope with such situations.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc.
There are trains and flights to Guwahati. From there, either a car, preferably a jeep with very good tyres and brakes can be taken to reach Tawang after a one night halt at Bomdila or, if pocket permits, one can avail the helicopter service from Gwahati to Tawang in just 90 mins (Rs 3000 per head). Please make sure that the driver who is taking you to such a tough and tedious trip has got at least a few days rest before. The travel agencies continuously send the same driver in that route without giving him even a day's rest. This happened to us and on the way our driver almost fell asleep. This is extremely dangerous and can cause deadly accidents to the tourists. So please check whether your driver is physically fit or fresh or not. Before going to Arunachal you will have to get an Inner Line Permit which is issued at Arunachal Bhaban at Salt Lake.